


he blinks and reality shivers

by kingblake



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, I think it's kinda short, Jack and Danny just make me so happy okay, M/M, idk what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 21:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8225450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingblake/pseuds/kingblake
Summary: atlas shoulders the sky without a word. one slip, and the sky falls -- so what does danny do when he's finally forced to hand off his control?





	

**Author's Note:**

> to anastasia atlas, my muse

Atlas. 

The Titan of the sky -- a man doomed to bear the weight of the sky for eternity, shouldering the crushing expanse of the world. If he loses control, if he drops the sky, if he lets the clouds tickle his nose: the world will fall. If Atlas moves the sky, the world will come crashing to an end. 

This is what it's like for Daniel to lose control.

His namesake is rather fitting, it seems. Daniel, the one man who begs for control, who immediately commands the situation, dominates the room, cannot make a single misstep. If he so much as sneezes, the sky will slide of his shoulders and all control will be lost. J. Daniel Atlas is no fool, and he's certainly no Titan. J. Daniel Atlas is a king among men. His life is set in stone, meticulously planned and prepared. Each word is precise, each sentence carefully planned, each scenario checked and double-checked as though his whole life were a game of chess. He makes lists, graphs, charts, maps everything out in his mind. One mistake could be fatal, one mistake could turn an entire situation on him. Control is key. Control is the way to with the game. 

It's hard to let go of control. He clings to the control he has like it's a lifeline, and though his grip resembles something like an iron claw, a bear trap, he knows that eventually he has to let go, for the sake of the people he's around. His incessant need for control is something that hasn't gone unnoticed by his comrades. In fact, it was the first thing the three of them noticed about him, and though they understood the deep-seeded need to be in command, the three of them often found his iron fist of authority to be a rope around their necks, suffocating them, bound so tightly and so skillfully that none of them had any room to breathe.

And Danny knows this.

He knows that he, eventually, has to let go of that lifeline he's molded himself to. It's one of the only ways he knows how to show his affections, one of the only ways he knows how to express just how much he really cares. 

It's a little easier with Merritt. The mentalist is older, more experienced, and though Danny finds Merritt's taunts and jokes almost unbearable, he knows that he can trust Merritt to do the right thing when push comes to shove. Danny is the Showman. He's the ringmaster, the starring role. But Merritt -- he's the comedy act. Whenever the show gets a little boring, a little slow, Danny knows he can trust Merritt's judgment. He hands off his threads of control, letting Merritt help him shoulder the weight of the sky, and when the final curtain falls, Danny knows that he did the right thing.

Henley is more of a necessity. She's a wildfire in herself, a mess of flame-red hair and bright smiles and gloved hands -- because he's sure if she touches something, it'll turn to gold. And he isn't wrong. She's the High Priestess, the healer, the metaphorical glue holding the merry band of thieves together. Danny trusts her as much as he trusts himself to take care of the four of them, and though he knows she can't shoulder the sky herself, he knows he can count on her to help him lift it with a smile on her face and a fire in her eyes. She needs to be needed, wants to be wanted. She's a force in and of herself, a fire waiting to be started. All Danny has to do is let himself light the match.

He finds himself consistently struggling with Jack Wilder. His name, like Danny's, is fitting in the sense that it held some resemblance of his character. When Danny attempts to hand off the threads of control to Jack, he feels as though he's taking a running leap off a cliff with a faulty parachute slung over his shoulders. Jack is a whirlwind, a hurricane of sunlight and smiles and a childlike purity only matched by the bright demeanor of a puppy. He was broken in some places, chipped, cracked, and scarred, but Jack held a naïvety about him that betrayed his troubled youth. His wicked half-smiles, the lope in his gait, the way he presented himself, the way he spoke -- Danny would have never guessed that Jack grew up in a disturbed household, never guessed that Jack had been living on his own since the age of fifteen.

When Danny fell in love with Jack, it got a little easier. He still clung to his control, treating it almost as if it were a drug, and when the two began to date, Jack immediately brought this issue up. Jack was blunt about it, as he always was. "Danny," he'd say one day, when it was just the two of them, curled up on the couch. "How are we going to make this work if you won't let me make any decisions? How am I supposed to function if this becomes one-sided?"

Danny freezes against Jack, and he feels his composure faltering, the foundation beneath his feet cracking with the pressure. Atlas is at the top of a mountain, both hands pressed against the sky, benching the world like a pro bodybuilder. If his feet aren't stationed beneath him, the mountain will crumble and the sky will fall. Danny recognizes this feeling and he squares himself, tensing against Jack's side. Jack turns, eyes wide, brows raised. His lips are parted, his cheeks rosy, and in that instant Danny realizes that Jack trusts him. Jack would willingly die for Danny, but would Danny do the same for Jack?

The showman clears his throat and blinks hard, hands trembling almost imperceptibly. Jack is younger, Danny is wisened. Maybe not as much as Merritt or Dylan, Danny is experienced enough to know how this ends -- it happened with his father, his mother, Henley --

He won't let it happen with Jack.

Danny reaches down and takes Jack's hand, lacing his fingers with the sleight's. He holds his ground for one final, fleeting moment, then lets Jack kiss him, lets Jack push him onto his back. With one look, Danny lifts the weight of the sky and shifts it to Jack's shoulders, letting the younger magician take control. Danny feels the world crumbling around him, but he suddenly realizes that maybe it isn't so bad.

Because when the sky falls, it looks remarkably like fireworks.


End file.
